Azerbaijan December 2024 (Baku)

Wittenborg Leads IQAinAR Final Conference in Baku, Strengthening Quality Assurance in Azerbaijani Higher Education

Baku, Azerbaijan – December 2-6, 2024 – Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences spearheaded the final conference of the Enhancement of Internal Quality Assurance of Education in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment in Higher Education Institutions of Azerbaijan and Russia (IQAinAR) project, held at the main campus of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University (ASPU) in Baku. From December 2 to 6, 2024, the event brought together educators, students, policymakers, and international partners to advance quality assurance standards in higher education across Azerbaijan and Russia, marking a significant milestone in this Erasmus+-funded initiative.

The conference, hosted at 68 Uzeyir Hajibeyli Street, kicked off with partner arrivals on December 2, followed by a packed agenda spanning training sessions, workshops, and paper presentations. On December 3, ASPU and Wittenborg led training on the "Essentials of Quality Assurance," complemented by group workshops and discussions aimed at fostering practical skills among attendees. The public conference day on December 4 featured a separate agenda with paper presentations from Wittenborg, ASPU, UCAM (Spain), and NSU (Russia), concluding with networking and a partner dinner. The week wrapped up with project management sessions on December 5 and a final partner meeting on December 6, before participants departed.

IQAinAR aims to align internal quality assurance (IQA) practices in Azerbaijani and Russian higher education institutions (HEIs) with international EU standards. Stakeholders, including the Azerbaijani Ministry of Education, AZ NEO, Dutch and Spanish embassies, and various HEIs, participated, highlighting the project's broad impact. Conference documentation, including proceedings, video recordings, and media coverage, will ensure its outcomes reach wider professional communities.

Additional highlights included a city tour of Baku on December 5, offering international partners a cultural experience alongside their professional engagements. The event underscored Wittenborg’s leadership role, as noted on their website (wittenborg.eu), in driving educational quality improvements in the region.

This final conference not only celebrated the achievements of the IQAinAR project, launched in January 2021, but also set the stage for sustained collaboration in enhancing teaching, learning, and assessment practices in Azerbaijani and Russian HEIs as the project concludes in January 2024.